"Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are
you?'"
(Genesis
3:9, NKJV).

A toy company produced a doll called
Cindy Smart that spoke five languages, read well, told time, and could do
simple math. Cindy was the first doll that would do what it was told. Those
who first met Cindy were a little spooked. How could a doll do all these
things?

The answer is good computer programming, a 16-bit microprocessor in the belly,
and an optical scanner that allows it to recognize numbers or letter-shaped
objects. In many ways Cindy Smart was just an advanced version of Chatty
Cathy, one of the first pull-string dolls that could speak.

Yet, no matter how complicated or even intricate Cindy Smart is, the doll
is still just a computer, programmed to do what it's told. Free will is not
an option for Cindy, no matter how smart the doll is.

In contrast, we're not just quantitatively different from Cindy in that we
can say more, but qualitatively different: We have been given moral freedom,
something totally alien to Cindy. This issue of free will is the crucial
difference, one that gets to the heart of the matter as we look at the rise
of sinand its cure.

The Week at a
Glance:

Why, in order to love God, must we be free? Why must freedom entail
the possibility to do wrong? How did God respond to the fall of Adam and
Eve?

Students of the Bible are familiar with the record that in the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. He was not dependent on preexisting
matter or conditions. He brought everything into being by His word, His
logos, which is the expression of His mind
(Ps.
33:6, 9;
John
1:1-3). Infinitely perfect Himself, He made everything flawless and
beautiful. God is love, and everything He does is consistent with His perfect
love and infinite wisdom. Upon His intelligent beings He bestowed the noble
attributes of personal individuality and freedom of choice. But choice, by
its very nature, involves the option of choosing between right and wrong.
Hence, the risk of human rebellion was there from the beginning.

At the same time, God desires us to have personal, mutually satisfying fellowship
with Him
(Ps.
36:5-10). He also endows us with wisdom, knowledge, love, and the
capacity for joy. These relational qualities can have real existence only
in beings who have freedom of will, something not found in Cindy Smart.

When
was the last time you ever heard of a happy computer,
a joyous PC, or a loyal and loving laptop? Why can't these things, which
can do amazing intellectual feats, ever be happy, loving, or loyal?

To love God, we have to be free. It's as simple as that. Love cannot exist
without moral freedom, and moral freedom can't exist without the capacity
to do wrong.

"God desires from all His creatures the service of love-service that springs
from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced
obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him
voluntary service."Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets,
p. 34.

A science-fiction story is told about a man who, having lost his wife,
had her replaced by a robot that looked, talked, felt, and acted exactly
as his wife did. If he hadn't known any better, he would have had no
idea that this wasn't she. In the end, however, he sent her away, because
the experience wasn't the same. What do you think was missing, and
what does that have to do with the day's study?

Scripture
informs us that Lucifer rebelled against God. What factors
led him to choose this path of opposition, and with what effect?Isa.
14:12-14,
Ezek
28:14-17.

Lucifer, Ellen White tells us, gradually becoming self-infatuated, withdrew
from loving his Creator and began to covet supreme power and authority. Jealous
of Christ, who is the Creator and coequal with the Father
(Heb.
1:1-3), Lucifer began a campaign of subversion, maliciously insinuating
that God was autocratic, His laws arbitrary, and His expectation of worship
and service from the creation unreasonable. Ingratitude, egotistic ambition,
self-love, covetousness, dissatisfaction, hostility, deceit, malice, and
a craving for worship and power were the fruits of Lucifer's pride. God created
Lucifer a perfect being without any propensity toward moral confusion or
failure. Yet, as a free moral agent, Lucifer was at liberty to diverge from
harmony with the God who brought him into existence and gave him his exalted
station.

Attitudes and actions, of course, have consequences. Departure from God's
law is sin
(1
John 3:4), and the wages of sin are death
(Rom.
6:23). Lucifer was "full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty," "perfect
in [his] ways" from the day he was created
(Ezek
28:12, 15). He dwelt in the very presence of God as the anointed
cherub, the chief communicator of divine revelations to the universe. Thus,
he stood entirely without excuse for his seditious estrangement from the
Lord. Through his crafty misrepresentation of God, Lucifer (renamed Satan,
or "adversary' after his fall) seduced one-third of the angelic host into
siding with him
(Rev.
12:4).

Satan's representation of God and His way could not be treated as acceptable.
Truth and righteousness are not a matter of subjective opinion but of absolute,
unalterable revelation that shapes character and conduct.

"In great mercy, according to His divine character, God bore long
with Lucifer. The spirit of discontent and disaffection had never before
been known in heaven. It was a new element, strange, mysterious,
unaccountable. Lucifer himself had not at first been acquainted with
the real nature of his feelings, yet be did not dismiss them. He did
not see whither he was drifting. But such efforts as infinite love
and wisdom only could devise, were made to convince him of his error. . .
. He was made to see what would be the result of persisting in
revolt."Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 39. Notice;
An all-wise, all-powerful God would not forcibly stop Lucifer's moral slide.
Why not? What does that tell us about the sanctity of moral freedom?

Revelation
12:12 tells those on earth to beware, because the devil has come down
to us having great wrath. And though that warning was given in the context
of the Cross and the doom that the Cross spelled for Satan, the Eden story
nevertheless presents us with a prototype, a model, on how the devil, who
"deceiveth the whole world"
(vs.
9), works to deceive each of us even now.

How fascinating that Satan used a mixture of truth and error. He took a direct
command from God and simply rephrased it in a way that sounded almost as
if he were repeating what God said, only he put a different spin on it. In
other words, he mixed just enough truth with error in order to make it sound
right.

Read
Genesis
3:2,3. What does it say about Eve's knowledge of God's command and, thus,
her responsibility for her action?

Though deceived
(1
Tim. 2:14), Eve, by her words, showed that she knew what God had
told her to do. That's a powerful lesson for us: We could save ourselves
a lot of heartache, sin, and deception if we simply obeyed the clear commands
of God, no matter how much we might not understand a certain situation or
all the variables in it. Deplorable as Eve's sin was, Adam transgressed with
eyes wide open. Even amid their ignorance, they could have saved themselves
from deception simply by obeying God, trusting that His way was the best
way, even when they didn't fully understand it.

Read
Genesis
3:6. What were the things about the tree that led Eve to disobey? What
principles were at work there? How are these same principles manifested
today?

Bewitched by Satan's subtle and not-so-subtle lies, the human race fell.
Instantly, the whole relationship between heaven and earth changed. The paradigm
of Paradise radically shifted. The harmony, the peace, and the balance of
Eden shattered. At that moment, the history of the universe altered. Satan's
rebellion, once confined only to himself and the fallen angels, had now gained
a foothold in a new world. The issues at stake had become momentous.

Read
Genesis
3:9. What is the first thing that the Bible records as said by God to
fallen humanity, and why are those words so important even for us today?
What do we see foreshadowed in
them?

The Hebrew word ayecah translates into "Where are you?" Thus, the
first thing that God communicates to His fallen creatures is a question,
a question that, in a sense, He has been asking ever since. He doesn't ask
it in order to know; He asks it in order to force Adam and Eve to confront
what they had done.

"Ayecah?" What we see here is not a condemnation but already the first of
what will be endless pleas to Adam and Eve and all of their descendants to
acknowledge their sinful position, to acknowledge their need, and to acknowledge
that God is here to save them.

"Ayecah?" God comes to them. God is seeking them out. Though we often view
Genesis
3:15 as the first gospel promise, already here, in this simple question,
"Ayecah?" we see the beginning of what will end only at the close of probation:
the Lord seeking us out and taking the initiative to save us.

Almost immediately after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they recognized
their fatal mistake. A chill crept over their cold souls, and they knew that
something vital had died within them. Their beautiful garments of light and
glory, exhibiting their natural harmony with God, disappeared
(Gen.
3:7). As they stood naked and ashamed, gone was their customary joy
over God's daily visit with them for fellowship and instruction (vs. 8).

How
did Adam and Eve attempt to cover their nakedness?
Gen.
3:7. What spiritual lesson does this point to, concerning mere
human effort to remedy the effects of sin and improve our moral condition?
Isa.
64:6,
Rom.
10:3. How was this same principle seen in Cain's offering?
Gen.
4:3.

The fall of Adam and Eve hadn't taken God by surprise. No sooner did they
fall and no sooner had He gotten a confession from both of them
(Gen.
3:12, 13), then He proceeded to give them the great hope found in
Genesis
3:15, understood as the first gospel promise.

Notice, too, how, when dealing with the serpent, the Lord asked no questions
and sought for no confession
(Gen.
3:14). He simply condemned the serpent while, in the next verse,
He offered the promise of hope to Adam and Eve. This promise included the
termination of sin and its originator, Satan. Thus, the glory of God's
everlasting gospel was disclosed in this judgment setting, a setting in which
He definitively reveals the mysteries of His will and the marvels of His
grace.

How would you respond to the charge, "Why was God so harsh with Adam and
Eve? After all, what did they do other than eat a piece of fruit?" What is
being missed in this charge?

"God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection
ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed,
that their true nature and tendency might be seen by all. . . .

"It was therefore necessary to demonstrate before the inhabitants of heaven,
and of all the worlds, that God's government is just, His law perfect. Satan
had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the
universe. The true character of the usurper and his real object must be
understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works.
. . .

"Had he been immediately blotted out of existence, some would have served
God from fear rather than from love. . . . For the good of the entire universe
through ceaseless ages, he must more fully develop his principles, that his
charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by
all created beings, and that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability
of His law might be forever placed beyond all question."Patriarchs
and Prophets, pp. 41, 42..

Discussion
Questions:

Dwell carefully and prayerfully on the last sentence in the Ellen
White quote above. What is she saying? What do these words tell us about
the character of God? From a human perspective, with so much suffering and
anguish, wouldn't it have been better for God simply to have destroyed Satan
from the start? If not, why not?

What
lessons are there for us in the fact that sin could arise in such a perfect
environment as heaven?

I
N S I D E
Story

"Make Me Muslim Again!"

by Barbara Huff

Almira was born into a Muslim family in Russia. A few years ago Almira's
nine-year-old son became ill with severe allergies to almost everything.
Almira took the boy to many doctors, but they could not help him. Someone
suggested that she go to Nizhney Novgorod, a city some distance away, to
seek medical help.

When they arrived in the city, Almira heard about evangelistic meetings being
held nearby. Curious, she and her son attended. She heard that a baptism
was scheduled, and again she decided to go, just to watch.

While the two stood beside the river watching the baptism, Almira's son screamed,
"Mama, get baptized, and I will be well!" Almira tried to quiet the boy,
but he continued shouting for her to be baptized.

Those helping with the baptism heard the boy shouting about baptism and assumed
that Almira had come to be baptized too. Almost before Almira realized what
was happening, someone had put a white robe on her and was leading her toward
the river. She was too stunned to resist.

When she realized the magnitude of what was happening, her heart was hardened
and she became upset. She didn't say anything to those who were leading her
to be baptized, but in her heart she prayed, OK, if there is Anyone in heaven,
heal my son. My son says that if I'll be baptized, You will heal him. She
says this was not a humble prayer, but a prayer of anger.

After the baptism Almira and her son returned home. That night she started
crying. "God, I don't want to be a Christian," she said. "Make me a Muslim
again."

That night she dreamed that she saw Jesus coming back to earth to take His
children home. She had never heard of the Second Coming, nor had she ever
held a Bible or a Koran in her hands. She wondered what her dream meant.

Three days later her son was completely well.

With her reluctance now gone, Almira studied the Bible with the pastor and
became an active, dedicated Seventh-day Adventist in her home church.

Usually God speaks with a still, small voice, but sometimes He works through
a child's screams to get a person's attention!

BARBARA HUFF is retired and lives in Florida. She and her husband,
Lee, served in the Euro-Asia Division.

Produced by the General Conference Sabbath
School and Personal Ministries Dept.Email: